As part of Margot’s efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in the luxury travel industry, we would like to feature a luxury wellness retreat in Northern California – Canyon Ranch Woodside – where women occupy a whopping 75% (six out of eight) of its leadership positions. This is extremely rare, or as Margot calls it, “unicorn-level” rare!
Reopened and reimagined in 2019, Canyon Ranch Woodside (formerly Skylonda Lodge) is an all-inclusive wellness retreat which sits on 16 acres of wooded forest located south of San Francisco in Silicon Valley. They offer weekend retreats from Thursday to Monday, either fully-inclusive or a more personally-designed 3- or 4-night experience that includes your choice of two or four wellness services. Each weekend retreat is a themed, curated experience based on scheduled guest speakers and wellness events. All retreats are for adults and teens 14 and older. A mid-week buyout option is also available for groups.
With 38 guest rooms divided between the main lodge and the treehouses set among the redwoods, Canyon Ranch Woodside offers an intimate setting for your wellness journey. Activities include hiking, mountain biking, canning and pickling, equine therapy, vineyard tours, swimming, spa, and wine tastings, as well as a wide range of fitness, wellness and mindfulness classes and workshops. While many activities are included, others are available at additional cost.
According to Sales and Marketing Director Jeanine Conforti, there’s a certain mystique to the location, “The land is special, it’s a very spiritual place.” She adds that while they want people to have a rejuvenating and relaxing experience, it is not a resort. “[Canyon Ranch is] not a hospitality company, it’s a wellness company. We’re giving you an experience.” Most people, says Conforti, come to Canyon Ranch because they’re searching for something, looking to improve their health in different ways.
Conforti, with more than 20 years of experience in the hotel industry – the last five of which were in luxury properties – was looking for something, too. She found her way to Canyon Ranch after deciding that she needed a change and realized that her passion for wellness was something that she’d been cultivating while on past vacations. Her enthusiasm for the retreat and its female-centric leadership comes through when talking to her. “There is something about the property. It needs a certain touch and women tap into it and understand its specialness. It’s a nurturing energy and it defaults to women to know how to lead teams here.” And though roughly 70% of their clientele is female, the men who do come to the retreat don’t feel out of place. While women feel at home, explains Conforti, “men become our biggest cheerleaders because it’s an unexpected delight for them. It’s like being with family.”
Much of the familial atmosphere comes from the top down. General Manager Kristi Dickinson, whose extensive background in spa management includes executive positions at Rancho Valencia Resort and Spa, Spa Montage at the Montage Deer Valley Resort, and the Golden Door Spa at The Peaks Resort, is passionate about creating exceptional guest experiences. At Canyon Ranch Woodside, she is “the driving force that is so impactful” with the staff and with the quality of the property. “Kristi just has the touch,” observes Conforti. She notices every last detail and how it relates to the guest experience as a whole.
A considerable component of the retreat experience falls under the responsibility of Director of Programming DeAnn Teixeira. She manages the development of all retreat programming – from sourcing guest speakers to overseeing spiritual advisors – and curates immersive experiential retreats. With more than 20 years of experience as a personal trainer and wellness coach, Teixeira is driven by the concept of mind, body, spirit and looks to combine the physical with the spiritual in order to encourage overall well-being.
Another element of that well-being falls to Spa Supervisor Miyah Buchanan. As head of the massage and facial team, Buchanan is also a shaman, a Reiki Master x2, and a highly-trained massage therapist with more than 20 years of spiritual study. She incorporates many different aspects of massage with energy healing, and according to Conforti, “she puts massage on a different level and gets you buzzed with energy flowing through you.”
The last piece of the wellness puzzle is led by Executive Chef Isabelle Jackson Nunes, whose 10+ years of culinary experience includes time as Head Cook/Chef de Partie at Apple and Executive Chef of Skylonda Lodge. She is a strong proponent of sustainability and using locally-sourced ingredients whenever possible. Roughly 80% of the food at Canyon Ranch is procured from top producers – many of which are women-owned or -run businesses – within a 50-mile radius of the retreat. While her plant-forward menu can turn even the most dedicated carnivore into an aficionado of plant-based cuisine, it does not preclude offering meat or other small indulgences. Chef Nunes’ goal is to encourage a vegetable-heavy diet that is as memorable as it is nourishing.
To help her reach that goal is Sous Chef Melda Erbatur. The second-in-command of an all-female kitchen staff, Melda focuses on kitchen operations and supports Chef Nunes in creating an ever-evolving menu. According to Conforti, Melda – who hails from Turkey – “brings the heat and spice” to the kitchen.
This leadership team is finding success in its efforts to provide excellence in creating memorable experiences among the California redwoods. Canyon Ranch Woodside was recently named the 2020 “Best Wellness Retreat in California” by the World Spa & Wellness Awards. But for them, perhaps the biggest payoff is being part of the journey. Concludes Conforti, “We’re here to help you remember who you are and to experience nature in its purest form, to teach you how to listen to yourself and how transformative that can be.”
Margot and her husband recently visited Canyon Ranch Woodside and can speak about its virtues from first-hand experience. Contact us to book your much-deserved wellness retreat or to find out more: info@journeysunparalleled.com.
Selina Lin is a freelance writer, editor and video producer. Most recently, she produced this profile piece on Margot for the Barnard Entrepreneurs Network.